Funerals give pet owners chance to say goodbye

Funeral home creates new service for pet owners

Published 5:58 AM EDT Mar 14, 2013

LEE. N.H. -

The loss of a pet can be devastating, and some pet owners are now marking the passing as they would if a relative died.

Full memorial services are being offered in some places for families who have lost pets. For Orman and Janice Melanson, such a service was just what they needed when they lost their 9-year-old German shepherd, Thor.

At Pet Passages in Lee, the Melansons were able to eulogize their pet, who died suddenly. A video tribute was also played that was put together with photographs documenting their lives with Thor.

For the Melansons, Thor was not just a pet; he was a member of the family.

"He got in the car with us the first time and never looked back," said Orman Melanson. "I think it was meant to be."

Adopted at 13 months old, Thor helped Orman Melanson adjust to retirement while his wife was still at work.

"I've never gotten close to an animal like Thor," he said.

Stories like that inspired Stephen Purdy of Purdy Funeral Services to create Pet Passages. Purdy said he discovered there was a need for people to say goodbye in the same way they do with other people.

The realization came when his family lost their own dogs last spring.

"After going through the normal protocol that was available to us at the time, we saw a need for change," Purdy said.

At Pet Passages, staff is available 24 hours per day, offering a full range of options for families, including a van to pick up the pet at your home, private on-site cremations within 72 hours and a private viewing area to say goodbye to the pet.

Grief counseling is also available.

"Pets are family members, too, and pet owners are now pet parents, so we offer the same services and merchandise here at Pet Passages that you'd expect to find at your funeral home," Purdy said.

Orman and Janice Melanson said that attention to detail made the loss of Thor a little easier to take.

"It was a pretty emotional time for us," Janice Melanson said. "It was like losing one of our children."

The Melansons said they were comforted by the way Thor was treated with dignity and care.

"To know that he was taken care of like we would want to take care of him, and they helped us with the fact that we can let him go and know that we have good memories of him," Janice Melanson said.

Purdy said the response from the community has been overwhelming, and he plans to expand to burial services in the in the spring.

The Melansons said they plan to adopt another German shepherd puppy in the near future.

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